Available PC (Windows, macOS); Consoles (Steam Deck, Switch 1/2, PS4, Xbox One)
If you’re someone who enjoys exploration and puzzles combined with fantasy and magic, games like The Legend of Zelda, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Journey, and Abzu, then Omno might be a game you’d also enjoy. It’s a low-poly game stacked with beautiful environments and a mystical vibe. With interesting creatures and mysteries to solve, Omno’s exploration is also an emotional exploration on top of everything else.
In Omno, you travel this world with forgotten secrets using your staff. It’s the main thing you use to traverse the environment; you can use it to surf and to fly, amongst other things!
The visual storytelling in this game is top-notch, with music to accompany the wonder of discovering everything you come across. It’s almost hard to believe that at the time of its release, it was made by a solo developer–and a father of three, at that. But you better believe it because that’s exactly the case.
I’ve come to really enjoy exploration games that have you think about the “what-ifs” of the locations. The unspoken history hidden behind every puzzle you solve, the civilizations that might have lived there. And I’m really happy to see that this is an aspect in the gaming scene that has only grown in number.
When playing Omno, I highly suggest just taking your time to fully explore the place and make sure you haven’t missed anything. There have been a couple of complaints from other reviews where they missed something and basically had to start over because you can’t just choose a chapter to continue from. So, if you’re a completionist, keep that in mind! I wasn’t that bothered by it, but only because I was after the experience of the game, not the achievements.
And speaking of fully exploring the worlds. My gosh, I loved the artistry and choices the developer made in this game. It’s such a simple art style, but it does it so well. All the biomes and all the ways you can interact with them and the creatures you meet? It just hits all the marks for me. I love being able to see worlds that are alive. I feel like it really elevates the experience and makes so much sense in the world of Omno.
There’s no danger in this game, which means no death and no HP bars; it’s just a relaxing game where you can fully immerse yourself and take in the details of your surroundings without worrying if you’re about to get attacked by anything. My own playthrough lasted a little bit over 4 hours, and that’s with me being a slowpoke, so some people could probably finish it in less!
One thing I like about Omno that other people might not like is the fact that it doesn’t really hold your hand to solve these puzzles. It doesn’t tell you how to do things, so you just have to sort of…rely on your own instincts. And I love it when a game can successfully do that. To make a puzzle feel so natural that you don’t even need instructions on how to solve it. It’s such a delicate thing to be able to pull off, and in my opinion, it’s something that this game does really well.
Jonas Manke worked on Omno for 5 years, and you can see the passion he poured into this game so well. It’s not something made half-heartedly. I look forward to the release of his next game, which is actually also on Steam. There’s no release date yet, but I’m definitely keeping an eye on it!
The game costs a little over 10usd (590php), but it does also regularly go on sale. I suggest adding it to your wishlist if you’re interested, and then buying it on sale if you’re not sure about it. You can always support the developer in other ways if you end up liking it!
